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13 Irregular nouns
13.1 Introduction
There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns.
13.2 The five nouns
There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state.
13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam
The first three nouns that we will talk about are:
- أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو»)
- أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو»)
- حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو»)
The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below.
Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples:
لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ.
liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr
“The girl has an old father and a young brother.”
ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ.
ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu.
“The boy beat a brother of his.”
ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ.
ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h.
“The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.”
Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples:
هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ.
huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah
“He is the girl’s brother.”
سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr.
“I asked my friend’s father about a matter.”
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul.
“I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.”
When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example,
أَبُوهُ
ʾabūhu
“his father” (u-state).
أَخَانَا
ʾak͡hānā
“our brother” (a-state).
However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel:
أَخِي
ʾak͡hī
“my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
أَبِي
ʾabī
“my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
حَمِي
ḥamī
“my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
Here are some more examples in sentences:
أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ.
ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr.
“His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.”
سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا.
saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā.
“I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.”
شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي.
s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī.
“My brother thanked my father.”
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn.
“I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.”
The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples:
بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ.
baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr.
“The brother’s house is big.”
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h.
“I went to a brother’s house.”
When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals.
| Word | Dual (u-state) | Dual (a-state and i-state) | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| أَب ʾab | أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni | أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni | آبَاء ʾābāʾ |
| أَخ ʾak͡h | أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni | أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni | إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān |
| حَم ḥam | حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni | حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni | أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ |
One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences:
ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ.
d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi.
“The brothers2 went to the mosque.”
سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ
saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin.
“I asked my brothers2 about a matter.”
شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ
s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi.
“I thanked his parents.”
13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt
The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”.
So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below:
| State | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| u-state | ذُو d͡hū | ذَوَا d͡hawā | ذَوُو d͡hawū |
| a-state | ذَا d͡hā | ذَوَيْ d͡haway | ذَوِي d͡hawī |
| i-state | ذِي d͡hī | same as a-state | same as a-state |
The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples:
ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ.
ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl.
“The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.”
The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below:
| State | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| u-state | ذَاتُ d͡hātu | ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā | ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu |
| a-state | ذَاتَ d͡hāta | ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay | ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti |
| i-state | ذَاتِ d͡hāti | same as a-state | same as a-state |
Examples:
هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ.
hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin.
“This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.”
As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples:
13.2.3 فَم fam
The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”.
In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior.
عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ.
ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān
“On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.”
It is a base noun in an annexation regularly:
نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ.
naṭaqa lisānu -lfam.
“The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].”
It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly
فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ.
fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni.
“The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.”
Let’s now see its irregular behavior.
When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns.
Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states:
| u-state | a-state | i-state |
|---|---|---|
| فُو fū | فَا fā | فِي fī |
Examples of usage:
فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ.
fu -nnahri kabīr.
“The mouth of the river is big.”
فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ.
fūhā jamīl.
“Her mouth is beautiful.”
فَتَحَ فَاهُ.
fataḥa fāh.
“He opened his mouth.”
جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا.
jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā.
“The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.”
When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples:
فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ.
fiyya maftūh.
“My mouth is open.”
فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ.
fataḥtu fiyy.
“I opened my mouth.”
أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ.
ʾakaltu bifiyy.
“I ate with my mouth.”
In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say:
فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ.
famu -nnahri kabīr.
“The river’s mouth is big.”
فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ.
famī maftūhun.
“My mouth is open.”
فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ.
famuhā jamīlun.
“Her mouth is beautiful.”
فَتَحَ فَمَهُ.
fataḥa famahu.
“He opened his mouth.”
جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا.
jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā.
“The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.”
The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh.
Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it.
13.3 Other irregular nouns
There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below.
13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun.
Here is its form in the different states:
| u-state | a-and i-state |
|---|---|
| أُولُو ʾulū | أُولِي ʾulī |
Example:
لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ.
liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq.
“The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.”
The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و.
| u-state | a-and i-state |
|---|---|
| أُولَاتُ ʾulātu | أُولَاتِ ʾulāti |
لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ.
liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn.
“The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.”
13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants:
- أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt
- أُمَّات ʾummāt
The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example:
أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ.
ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt.
“The boys’ mothers are good.”
13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.)
In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly.
| Singular | āt sound plural | ūn sound plural (u-state) | ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) |
|---|---|---|---|
| سَنَة sanah | سَنَوَات sanawāt | سِنُونَ sinūna | سِنِينَ sinīna |
Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples:
13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”.
Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural.
13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts:
- ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah
- بِنْت bint
which mean “a daughter”.
ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural.
Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”.
In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly:
| Singular | ūn sound plural (u-state) | ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) |
|---|---|---|
| ٱِبْن ʾibn | بَنُونَ banūna | بَنِينَ banīna |
The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state.
Here are some examples using these nouns:
13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”.
When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused.
When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused.
Here are some examples using these nouns:
13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular.
Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”.
ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”.
Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required.
ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used.
Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural.
Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean:
| State | Definite of ٱِمْرَأ | Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة |
|---|---|---|
| u-state | ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu | ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu |
| a-state | ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa | ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata |
| i-state | ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi | ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati |
The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر.
It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used.
This table shows what we mean:
| State | Regular indefinite (less common) | Irregular indefinite (more common) |
|---|---|---|
| u-state | ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun | ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun |
| a-state | ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan | ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan |
| i-state | ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin | ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin |
Here are some examples of these nouns: